Strategy with a Heart: Embracing EOS to Grow Your Nonprofit
Last summer, Team Up Mentoring made the decision to adopt Entrepreneurial Operating Systems (EOS) to strengthen our organization’s strategy. As a nonprofit, it’s often hard to balance the compassion and love we want our stakeholders to feel with the more traditional business aspects (like the alphabet soup of SOPS, P+Ls, and 13WTRs) .
While data, systems, and strategy aren’t the reasons most people choose to work at a nonprofit, those elements are essential to sustaining the good work that nonprofits like Team Up do every day.
Like many nonprofits, Team Up Mentoring found itself feeling stuck when it came to achieving our strategic goals. Where do we start? How do we chip away at such a complex need?
Here's how EOS worked for us:
List of Services
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Visionary PathsList Item 1
We started by defining the vision for Team Up Mentoring in the next 10 years. With EOS as our guide, we charted a course that's not just about reaching our destination but also making a difference along the way.
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Harmony Among TeamsList Item 2
EOS brings everyone together around the same goals. It's about fostering a sense of unity and understanding, where each member's contribution is valued and celebrated. EOS brought us SIMPLE, SHARED clarity about where our organization is going and what each person’s role is in that journey
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Data with HeartList Item 3
Behind every number lies a story waiting to be heard. With EOS, we dove into the data not just to analyze figures but to listen to the voices of those we serve. It's about connecting with the human side of our work and letting compassion guide our decisions. A weekly scorecard clarified what is key to track across our organization as we seek to serve in the best way possible.
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Using Values to Navigate ChallangesList Item 4
Every journey has its obstacles, but with EOS, we face them through the lens of our organizational values. EOS helped Team Up Mentoring nail down our values as an organization and truly make them a part of our company culture.
Infusing EOS into Your Organization: Tips for You
Team Up has started 2025 with some big wins! Our staff reports higher job satisfaction, we accomplished almost 90% of our Quarter 1 goals as a team, and we feel confident we have the right data pulse to make timely course corrections if needed. If you’re thinking about adopting a company strategy for your nonprofit (or for-profit) here’s a few things to keep in mind:
- Start with Leadership: Change of any kind is often scary for groups. We completed the first six months of our EOS journey as a Leadership Team before rolling it out organization-wide. Our small leadership team had the opportunity to really understand and use the model before introducing it to anyone else.
- Be Honest to Build Trust: As we rolled out EOS elements, we took time to answer questions from our team and offer feedback and support. We took things slowly, making sure one element was mastered before adding another.
- Communicate Communicate Communicate: Remembering what someone has told you is hard. When you’re talking strategy, this is especially true - because strategy isn’t the task list in front of staff every day, shouting for attention. EOS helped us clearly communicate our vision by setting a rhythm of reminders across multiple channels (emails, in person meetings, celebrations, swag, etc). That communication is paying dividends already.
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We are Team Up because of YOU.
Thank you for making our mission your own, working together to build resilience in kids and families living in Northeast Georgia.
Yours,
Anna Blount
